Mayor Tom Bates has been charged with stealing copies of the UC Berkeley newspaper a day before he was elected, prosecutors said. A former assemblyman, Bates is expected to appear in court Jan. 8 and plead guilty, said Malcolm Burnstein, who is representing him. UC Berkeley police said witnesses had seen Bates remove the papers and throw them into a trash can on Nov. 4. The paper was running an endorsement of Bates' opponent that day.

In a move that speaks volumes about the future of the newspaper business, Times Mirror Co. has forced itself to sink or swim in the unknown multimedia future in which computer networks will play a larger role than ink and paper. The stock market initially reacted sourly as investors and analysts focused on the present--in which Times Mirror will cut its dividend and transfer its profitable cable business to a venture with Atlanta's Cox Enterprises in return for cash and stock.

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell urged newspaper publishers Friday to tell the story of U.S. diplomats and the work they do so Americans will support a foreign policy that "has us engaged" in the world. Powell said that one of his major missions will be to fight for better salaries, more secure embassies and more recognition for the men and women who work for the State Department.

The average circulation of U.S. newspapers held steady despite pressures of the business downturn and concerns over declining readership. Overall, the average daily paid circulation for the 807 newspapers reporting to the Audit Bureau of Circulations for the six months ending Sept. 30 fell 0.3% from the same period a year earlier, according to the Newspaper Assn. of America. Sunday circulation dropped 0.4%.

Newspaper publishers likely will match this year's modest earnings gains in 1990, as slow advertising revenue growth mutes the benefit of cheaper newsprint. Analyst projections of earnings growth ranging from 8% to 10% would mean next year's profits will be slightly below average for the newspaper business. Earnings gains of 10% to 12% are the average.

The Los Angeles Times posted an increase in Sunday circulation for the six months that ended March 31, while daily circulation continued to decline. Times Publisher Eddy W. Hartenstein said the figures were the best Sunday results in eight years. They also marked the smallest daily decline in six years. In an email to staffers, Hartenstein credited improved promotion of local stories, implementation of new digital delivery platforms and enhanced programs to maintain and recruit readers.

Not so many years ago, it wasn't very hard to understand ownership of Southern California's newspapers. The Chandlers had the Los Angeles Times, the Hoiles family controlled the Orange County Register, the Copleys reigned at the San Diego Union-Tribune and MediaNews Group, a chain run by William Dean Singleton, owned a passel of suburban dailies. Now those durable names have sold out or, in the case of Singleton in recent weeks, been pushed aside. The companies that bought the papers have fallen into deep financial distress.

At College of the Canyons, student journalists have a name for student politicians: newspaper thieves. Student politicians have a name for the journalists: hacks. And they've taken to publishing their own protest paper. It's called The Truth. And you wondered why professional reporters and lawmakers can't get along. "There were attempts on campus to mediate," Dean of Student Services Glenn Hisayasu said with administrative understatement. "They didn't resolve their major differences."

A decision by Palestinian authorities to prevent the distribution of a pro-Jordanian newspaper in Gaza and Jericho raised a storm of protest among editors and opposition figures Friday. In the first instance of overt censorship by the newly formed Palestinian Authority, police seized all issues of An Nahar, a newspaper known for its pro-Jordanian leanings, when they were trucked into Gaza before dawn Thursday.

Four newspaper racks containing pornographic publications have been removed from a Marina Drive sidewalk by their owner after city officials informed him that the vending machines violated city laws. The removal was cheered by residents and merchants on the street who had complained to City Hall soon after the machines appeared about a month ago. "They must have been (installed) during the dead of night," said Mayor Gwen Forsythe. "We would have seen it if they were put up during the day."